Beverage container ownership indicators

ABSTRACT

Disclosed are various embodiments for ownership indicators for beverage containers such as coffee cups, bottles, and soda cans. In a first embodiment, a beverage container has a circumferentially arranged legend of a plurality of symbols, and a rotating marker configured to indicate one or more of the plurality of symbols. In a second embodiment, a beverage container has a rotating circumferentially arranged legend of a plurality of symbols, and a fixed marker configured to indicate one or more of the plurality of symbols. In a third embodiment, a beverage container has a plurality of indicator symbols with an integrated means for modifying one or more of the plurality of indicator symbols.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a non-provisional of, and claims priority to, co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application entitled “BEVERAGE CONTAINER OWNERSHIP INDICATORS,” filed on Apr. 24, 2015, and assigned application No. 62/152,193, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND

In a large gathering, such as a party, meeting, etc., many people may be drinking beverages. However, it is often the case that more than one person will be drinking beverages having the same or similar container. For example, two or more people may be drinking a specific type of cola via the same type of can, or two or more people may be drinking bottled water from the same type of bottle. This may happen frequently, as hosts are likely to provide multi-packs of the same type of beverage, such as a twenty-four-pack of cola or a twelve-pack of bottled water. Such multi-packs may be an economical way of providing types of beverages that are frequently desired by guests.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood with reference to the following drawings. The components in the drawings are not necessarily to scale, with emphasis instead being placed upon clearly illustrating the principles of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like reference numerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views.

FIGS. 1 and 2 are top views of examples of a beverage can according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIGS. 3-5 illustrate perspective views of examples of a beverage cup according to embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage bottle according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage can according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage cup according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage can according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present application relates to ownership indicators for beverage containers. An issue may often arise in a gathering such as a meeting, a party, and so forth, when multiple guests drinking beverages from the same or similar type of container set the beverage container down. For example, a guest may set a beverage container down upon a counter while eating, socializing, using restroom facilities, or otherwise taking a break from beverage consumption. When multiple containers of the same type are present, a guest may become confused as to which one is his or her own. For hygiene and/or cultural reasons, the thought of drinking from another person's beverage may be unacceptable. Accordingly, when in doubt, one or more beverages may be discarded, which in turn leads to additional beverage costs for the host and is an inefficient use of resources. Yet, if guests accidentally drink from the beverage of another, the guests may receive saliva-transmitted pathogens, which could spread serious illness.

Various embodiments of the present disclosure provide ownership indicators for beverage containers. While some beverage cups may be written upon via a permanent marker, beverage cans and bottles may have surfaces that are not amenable to writing. For instance, the surface may be slick, and ink may smear. Besides, circulating writing utensils may be a chore, and writing may be resisted by guests. In various embodiments, integral factors of the beverage container may be utilized to indicate a self-selected letter, number, or other symbol identified to the guest, thereby indicating ownership. This could be a first letter of the guest's first name, a first letter of the guest's last name, the guest's middle initial, the first digit of the guest's Social Security number, the guest's favorite number, or any other identification approach. The approach could be self-selected by the guest and/or announced by the host.

Turning now to FIG. 1, shown is a top view of one example of a beverage can 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Upon the top 103 of the beverage can 100, various letters, number, or symbols may be shown. In this example, the alphabet A through O are shown in a first circumferential row 106, as well as numbers one up to zero are shown in a second circumferential row 109. In other examples, only letters or only numbers may be present. For example, letters A through J may be shown or numbers 1 through 9 may be shown. Other symbols may be shown also or instead. For example, in FIG. 2, a row 118 of symbols (“!,” “@,” “#,” etc.) is provided.

By rotating the pull tab 112 on the top 103 of the beverage can 100, the guest is able to provide an identification/ownership indicator with respect to the beverage can 100. In this example, a small mark 115 or the center of the pull tab 112 may be used to point towards a letter, number, or other symbol. In other examples, the pull tab 112 may be manufactured with an integral arrow for precisely pointing.

The letters, numbers, or symbols may be engraved or printed upon the top 103 of the beverage can 100. Alternatively, the letters, numbers, or symbols may be printed upon a label that is affixed to the top 103 of the beverage can 100. It is noted that the pull tab 112 may concurrently point to two different symbols. In this example, the pull tab 112 may point to a letter and a number concurrently. In another example, one row of symbols may correspond to the first thirteen letters of the alphabet, while the next row of symbols may correspond to the next thirteen letters of the alphabet. In another embodiment, a rotating label may be affixed to the rim of the beverage can 100 such that a marker on the top 103 would indicate a particular symbols of a plurality of symbols located on the rotating label.

FIG. 3 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage cup 300 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. The beverage cup 300 may be a coffee cup, which may be a plastic cup, paper cup, etc. The beverage cup 300 may have a rotating sleeve 303 with a marker 306 that can be used to indicate a letter, number, or other symbol within a row of symbols 309 for ownership indication. In some cases, such as in the example of FIG. 4, the row of symbols 309 may be on the rotating sleeve 303, while the marker 306 may be on the beverage cup 300 itself.

FIG. 5 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage cup 500 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 5, the lid 503 or top of the beverage cup 500 may include press indicators 506 associated with letters, numbers or other symbols. While beverage cups 500 may have press indicators 506 to indicate contents (e.g., “cola,” “diet,” etc.), the press indicators 506 of the present disclosure are contemplated to be arbitrary (e.g., “A” through “K”) for indicating ownership (e.g., the first letter of the owner's last name).

FIG. 6 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage bottle 600 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. Like the beverage can 100 of FIG. 1, the beverage bottle 600 of FIG. 6 has a circular arrangement 603 of letters and numbers to indicate ownership identification. Instead of using a pull tab 112 (FIG. 1), the ring 606 left behind after opening the cap 609 of the beverage bottle 600 may be used to indicate ownership. The ring 606 may have an indicator 612 such as a line, mark, arrow, or other indicator that may be aligned via rotation with symbols on the circular arrangement 603, which is another ring below or printed on the neck of the beverage bottle 600.

FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage can 700 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In this embodiment, a writeable label 703 may be disposed upon a beverage can 700 or other container that otherwise has an unwriteable surface. For example, a specific area of a beverage can 700 may be coated with a certain material (e.g., paper, plastic, etc.) that enables the specific area to be written upon with an ordinary pen or pencil.

FIG. 8 illustrates a perspective view of an example of a beverage cup 800 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. In FIG. 8, a grouping of scratch-off symbols 803 is provided (“A” through “G”). A user is able to scratch off one or more of the symbols to indicate ownership. In this example, the symbol 806 “D” has been scratched off, revealing a modified symbol underneath. The modified symbol may be struck through, underlined, with a different color, or modified in some other way. Several types of integrated modification means may be provided. Rather than scratch-off symbols, in other embodiments, pull-tabs or poppable bubbles may be employed, where the action of removing the pull tab or popping the bubble indicates a selection of a particular symbol, color, or other indicator. In some cases, the distributor of the beverage may offer a prize if a particular unique symbol is revealed beneath the scratch-off, pull-tab, or bubble.

In another embodiment, a multi-pack of beverage containers may be distributed with indicators unique to the multi-pack. For instance, each can within a 32-pack of beverage cans may be marked with a number from one to thirty-two. These indicators may be used to indicate ownership. An added color to the number may increase the probabilities. For instance, a colored dot, dash, or circle may distinguish among the beverage containers. FIG. 9 depicts one example of a beverage can 900 with a numerical identifier 903 (“13”) with a colored indicator below the identifier.

It should be emphasized that the above-described embodiments of the present disclosure are merely possible examples of implementations set forth for a clear understanding of the principles of the disclosure. Many variations and modifications may be made to the above-described embodiment(s) without departing substantially from the spirit and principles of the disclosure. All such modifications and variations are intended to be included herein within the scope of this disclosure and protected by the following claims. 

Therefore, the following is claimed:
 1. A beverage container, comprising: a circumferentially arranged legend of a plurality of symbols; and a rotating marker configured to indicate one or more of the plurality of symbols.
 2. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the circumferentially arranged legend includes a plurality of circumferential symbol arrangements, each with a corresponding plurality of the plurality of symbols.
 3. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the beverage container is a beverage can and the rotating marker is a pull tab.
 4. The beverage container of claim 3, wherein the pull tab has an indicator arrow.
 5. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the beverage container is a beverage bottle and the rotating marker is a ring detached from a cap of the beverage bottle.
 6. The beverage container of claim 5, wherein the ring has a single indicator arrow that points toward a single symbol on the circumferentially arranged legend.
 7. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the rotating marker is a sleeve disposed upon the beverage container.
 8. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the plurality of symbols includes a plurality of letters.
 9. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the plurality of symbols includes a plurality of numbers.
 10. The beverage container of claim 1, wherein the plurality of symbols includes a plurality of colors.
 11. A beverage container, comprising: a rotating circumferentially arranged legend of a plurality of symbols; and a fixed marker configured to indicate one or more of the plurality of symbols.
 12. The beverage container of claim 11, wherein the fixed marker is an indicator arrow that points to the rotating circumferentially arranged legend.
 13. The beverage container of claim 11, wherein the plurality of symbols are arbitrary with respect to contents of the beverage container.
 14. The beverage container of claim 11, wherein the rotating circumferentially arranged legend is disposed on a sleeve of the beverage container.
 15. The beverage container of claim 11, wherein the rotating circumferentially arranged legend is disposed on a ring that rotates around a neck of the beverage container.
 16. A beverage container, comprising: a plurality of indicator symbols with an integrated means for modifying one or more of the plurality of indicator symbols.
 17. The beverage container of claim 16, wherein the plurality of indicator symbols include at least one of: a number, a color, or a letter.
 18. The beverage container of claim 16, wherein the integrated means for modifying the one or more of the plurality of indicator symbols comprises at least one pull tab.
 19. The beverage container of claim 16, wherein the integrated means for modifying the one or more of the plurality of indicator symbols comprises at least one scratch off area.
 20. The beverage container of claim 16, wherein the integrated means for modifying the one or more of the plurality of indicator symbols comprises at least one poppable bubble. 